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Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

I am a brand new beek--3 weeks in to this. I am certain that just about everything I've done is near wrong, lol. I don't know how else I am going to learn the good and the bad without looking in my hive. I anticipate not having to do it so often once I learn what is normal and what is not.

If I am wrong, will someone come and consfiscate my bees??? (Might be for their own good... )

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

Originally Posted by kiwiBee

"I didn't say that. It's the attitude of unrelenting interference, including multiple medications, that does the damage."

So which is it? and why the mention of CCD ?

I agree with Kiwi, Buckbee was the one who raised the spectre of CCD as result of routine hive inspection. The inspection of hives on a regular basis is normal beekeeping practice. To not do so, out of fear of some dire consequence, is superstitious nonsense.

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

putting your judgmental and argumentative comments aside, the OP is trying to figure out for himself what is 'regular' inspections.

He wants to know if once a week, once every two weeks, etc... is an appropriate interval for checking the hives without unduly interfering with the colony or causing some rukus he, the OP, doesn't intend to happen.

I can say that I once spoke to Dr Marion Ellis, of the University of Nebraska, who is a very well known bee researcher and beekeeper. He does not think going into a hive too often is a good idea either as it can interrupt the hive environment leading to chilled brood and other issues.

I agree that if one wants to learn from seeing the bees in action on a constant basis, an observation hive is the better way to go and will provide the best opportunity to see all you can see of hive behavior and activity.

However, to repeat myself, NONE of us are the authoritative answer here. You are free and encouraged to make your own informed decisions as it will work best for you and your bees.

Big Bear

No, I am NOT a bee "Keeper". Anything I post is just my opinion. Take it easy and think for yourself.

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

Originally Posted by b.walden

how often should we be opening the hive? We don't want to do harm to the bees.

I think the knowledge you gain from having your head and hands inside a hive in the learning stage out weighs the potential "setback" it might cause the hive. The first year or two when I started had me looking in quite often. Be as least disrupting as possible. Enjoy learning.

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

Originally Posted by mdaniels

I am a brand new beek--3 weeks in to this. I am certain that just about everything I've done is near wrong, lol. I don't know how else I am going to learn the good and the bad without looking in my hive. I anticipate not having to do it so often once I learn what is normal and what is not.
If I am wrong, will someone come and consfiscate my bees??? (Might be for their own good... )

this makes sense to me....if you're new to it, you have to learn...once the 'new' wears off, you'll probably spend less time inside the hive...

but for now, I'd check it whenever I felt like checking it...being careful though

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

So how would you like it if I came over to your house as soon as you moved in and removed all the locks…so I could come and go as I please? On my first and all subsequent visits I remove all the weather stripping and calking around all the doors and windows. On one visit I decide to move the bedrooms and bathrooms downstairs and put the living and dining rooms upstairs. Don’t get too upset if I kill your mother because if you behave I’ll give you another one tomorrow. How would it set with you if each visit involves the loss of warm blankets in the baby’s bedroom? Better have your guard up because you will never know when I might decide to run chemical drills on ya! You are not allowed to have any extra food in the house because it is mine. Half of what I eat comes out of a can so you can eat this junk too. By the way quit calling the fire company every time I visit…. I just love the smell of smoke and I’m thoroughly amused at the way you guys run hysterically to the pantry to grab all the food you can carry. You know how you like to channel the airflow in the house to make it more comfortable… not allowed. All wax boundaries are at my discretion as well as any extra disinfectants in the house… no need for all these antimicrobials you’ve placed around the house. I see you have added boys to the house….did you not see the “no boys allowed” sign. Now we have to kill all the boys. See what a waste of time it is to raise boys around here. Sorry all your beds are the same size but you will grow into them or die, at which point we will move a new family in to take your place. We have instructed all our friends to remove their locks too so don’t try to leave…we have ways of dealing with this too! So while your new home and lifestyle take prison and slavery to a new level, please enjoy your stay. See you tomorrow and make lots of honey.

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

My post is not directed at anyone. It was merely meant to point out various ways we manipulate the bees to suit our needs. It was just food for thought. If you don’t like what I cook, don’t eat it. If you like what I smoke then smoke it. I have come to realize that one’s rationalizing is in direct proportion to one’s approach to manipulation of bees.

PS. This post is not directed at anyone…drinking and smoking optional.

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

Originally Posted by DavesBees

So how would you like it if I came over to your house as soon as you moved in and removed all the locks…so I could come and go as I please? On my first and all subsequent visits I remove all the weather stripping and calking around all the doors and windows. On one visit I decide to move the bedrooms and bathrooms downstairs and put the living and dining rooms upstairs. .................................................. .

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

At next month's meeting of our local bee club, I will be bringing a single deep or a nuc to the meeting, and I am giving an outdoor presentation. I'm calling it "What's inside the beehive." Folks will get hands on experience playing with bees, and we're just going to be snooping around in a hive for no reason other than curiousity.

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

I have noticed that my outyards tend to do much better than the bees that I keep at the house (which I constantly have my nose in) I think they do better with only minimal disturbance.... I came to this conclusion after a few years of constant supervision and tinkering.
How in the world are you going to learn about what's best for the bees if you don't get in there and watch? The downside of disturbing one hive to often is far outweighed by the upside of the knowledge gained wich will keep you from making mistakes that harm your bees in the future.

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

That's part of gaining experience as one works with bees is to get the 'feel' for things. It's one thing to read about it from others, something else entirely to do it yourself.

One must expect problems and issues to arise as the learning process goes on but much of things depend on one's attitude.

If someone really is concerned for the bees, their sense of concern and responsibility will help to limit actions that have negative impact on the bees as those persons don't want to see that effect or impact happen again or to be the cause of it.

Of course, there are those for whom there is no connection to the bees and they are simply a commodity to them. Assuming they can go and buy more bees if something happens as a child might buy more marbles if he loses or breaks those he has.

It takes all kinds.

Big Bear

No, I am NOT a bee "Keeper". Anything I post is just my opinion. Take it easy and think for yourself.

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

The degree to which any particular hive is affected by opening it and inspecting also varies greatly between different hives. I have had hives that were probably AHB that were highly disturbed just because I approached within fifty feet of the hive. I presently have bees that will offer the occasional sting if the circumstances are right, but that otherwise appear entirely unaffected when I completely disassemble their home - in these hives I can even remove the comb where the queen is busy laying, walk it a few hundred yards to the house, take it into the house to show it to my paraplegic wife (who is inside in her easy chair), on this comb, we can watch the foragers dance, the nurse bees nurse, the house bees do what they do, and the queen continue to lay eggs. Usually, not a single bee will fly off the comb to be captured by our skylight, then after we've watched them for about twenty minutes, or so, walk the comb back out to their hive, return it to its position, do the same with all their other combs and close the hive back up. These are the kinds of bees I remember keeping back when I first started to keep bees. It is nice that the majority of my hives are again behaving in similar fashion.

I can't say that my frequent looking inside hives doesn't disrupt the bees. But I can say that how much they are disrupted can depend as much on how the bees respond to being disrupted as it does on the beekeepers technique, and as to how they are disrupted.

Re: How often should we be opening the hive?

Originally Posted by Joseph Clemens

- in these hives I can even remove the comb where the queen is busy laying, walk it a few hundred yards to the house, take it into the house to show it to my paraplegic wife (who is inside in her easy chair), on this comb, we can watch the foragers dance, the nurse bees nurse, the house bees do what they do, and the queen continue to lay eggs. Usually, not a single bee will fly off the comb to be captured by our skylight

You are to be hanged at dawn, not only did you disrupt their home, break their caulk and window seals, subject them to CCD but in bee distance you walked your queen and her court to northern Oregon where the brrod was subject to chilling. Oh yeah and apparently you dont mind leaving a soldier behind trapped by your skylight.

Seriously, Im glad you take the time to help your wife enjoy the bees also, as previously stated get in your hives, learn, and enjoy. Thats why we keep bees.

A government large enough to provide everything you need is strong enough to take everything you have. T. Jefferson